It’s always entertaining to hear fundamentalist Christians give sex advice because you have to assume they have little to no knowledge about the topic — at least in the way so many people experience it. But for the same reason, it’s also infuriating to hear fundamentalists talk about LGBTQ people because they’re so confident in their ignorance.
You may have heard that a recent Gallup poll found a rather sharp increase in the percentage of Americans who identify as LGBTQ. It’s now 5.6% compared to 3.5% in 2012, and the majority of that group (55%)
identifies as bisexual.
It’s not hard to guess why these numbers are on the rise. As the stigma against being LGBTQ drops, more people are willing to be open about that aspect of their identity. It’s not that they’re “becoming” gay or trans; it’s that they’re more comfortable being open about it.
The Gospel Coalition editor Joe Carter isn’t comfortable talking about any of this because it means recognizing how his religion has done a horrible job of making LGBTQ people ashamed to act on or acknowledge their identity. But instead of admitting that acceptance of LGBTQ people has spurred more people to come out, he acts like these results are the conclusion of a long recruitment campaign.
… Social contagion and normalization of homosexuality have combined to make the younger, highly susceptible, and credulous generations believe they should identify as LGBTQ.
…
Social contagion is the only adequate explanation for why so many younger people — especially women — claim to be bisexual or “bi-curious” in such a short time.
…
One of the reasons bisexuality is considered a requirement is that it is now considered “transphobic” to not be sexually attracted to someone who has the same genitalia as you. In other words, if you’re a man who refuses to date a trans woman (i.e., a man) or a woman who refuses to date a trans man (i.e., a woman) you will be called transphobic. (Ironically, this nullifies the L and G in LGBT, since gay men and lesbian women who refuse to date someone who has genitalia of the opposite sex are also considered transphobic.) For many young Americans, even if you aren’t attracted to the same sex and have no desire to enter into a same-sex relationship, it is still better to identify as “bisexual” to avoid being considered a bigot.
That’s… not what “transphobic” means.
Joe Carter is transphobic. Straight cis people who simply admit they’re straight and cis are not. (See? Not hard at all.) Saying you’re bisexual also doesn’t mean you’re automatically covering up your inherent transphobia. And the only people actively trying to negate the L and G are conservative Christians who are doing everything in their power to shove them back in the closet.
Carter could’ve just said “I don’t understand any of this, so I’m gonna pass” Instead, he spent paragraph after paragraph making it clear how little he knows about this topic.
Want another example? Here’s his description of porn:
… for years the most popular search term for pornography for women has been “lesbian.” (This is a bit of misnomer, however, since most of the porn produced for this category is by women who also produce heterosexual porn.)
That’s… not a misnomer.
Then there’s this description of what it takes to be a tween sensation:
For other young actresses and pop stars, coming out as gay/bisexual/queer is almost obligatory and necessary for the young audience to consider them LGBT allies.
Being LGBTQ isn’t what makes you an ally. Being an ally is what makes you an ally.
Joe Carter is not an ally. It’s not because he’s straight and cis; it’s because he actively works to promote the suffering of LGBTQ people by spreading lies about them and pretending there’s something immoral about their existence or consensual actions.
As long as white evangelicals continue pushing these lies, they’re not allies either, and you can bet young Christians are aware of that, which is why so many of them are walking out of their churches. They’re not becoming atheists necessarily, but they’re keenly aware that the evangelical world does more harm than good on this issue and they want nothing to do with it.
Carter should apologize for failing to do any research but still writing an article meant to inform Christians about facts he knows nothing about.
He won’t, but he should.
(Image via Shutterstock)
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